Amidst the Academic Staff Union of Universities strike which is running to its sixth month, the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan (CoMUI) celebrates a huge financial contribution by an alumnus of the college, Doctor Philip Ozuah, to boost provision of hostel facilities for students in the college.
Philip Ozuah who graduated from the University of Ibadan in 1985 is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Montefiore Medicine, Montefiore Health System (MHS) and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. Ozuah donated the sum of $US1million to the college of Medicine Ui on Monday, 1 August 2022 during the unveiling of the CoMUI’s new students hostel facility.
While keynoting and leading the fundraising session via zoom at the ceremony, Ozuah made the huge donations on behalf of his family. He said the CoMUI made him the man he is and the contribution is just a way of giving back to the college.
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Ozuah was reported to be among the highest paid hospital executives in New York. According to a New York post article, he got $13million in compensation. He also got a $9million payout in early retirement money in 2018 when he was president of the Montefiore Health System, and received a $1.6million additional bonus to his $2.8million salary according to Montefiore tax filing.
The former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Prof. Abel Idowu Olayinka remarked on his analysis published on his Facebook page on Tuesday that the hefty donation by Philip Ozuah will serve as a catalyst for the timely construction of an ultra modern student Hostel estimated to cost about 2.5billion naira. “Other Alumni and friends of the College of Medicine Should chip in the Window’s mite for the laudable project of the College’s Provost, Olayinka Omigbodun and the Ibadan College of Medicine Alumni Association World Wide (ICOMMA WW) president Otolorin” he said.
Prof. Olayinka Idowu also noted that the donation would serve as a morale booster to the partnership between CoMUI and ICOMMA WW. According to him, ICOMMA WW has been highly supportive of CoMUI.
Commenting on the issue of incessant strike in the public Universities due to financial constraint, Professor Idowu Olayina recalled a proposal by the 1949 alumnus of the then University College Ibadan, Professor Akin Mabogunje, that the Federal Government should hand over the University to the alumni to manage. According to the former vice Chancellor, it is perhaps the time the proposal is interrogated for the overall benefit of the country. Otherwise, if we are to learn from history the current national strike by ASUU may painfully not be the last.